By Bridget Borgobello

19:15 March 23, 2011

Luna projector/MP3 player

Ben Grubb

March 25, 2011 – 12:30PM

Laptop thief dance dilemma

Should the embarrassing online video of this thief be removed by the victim?

In the digital age, there’s a new controversial punishment for crime – sentenced to a lifetime of embarrassment on YouTube.

Our story yesterday about the laptop thief who returned it and apologised after an embarrassing clip of him dancing was posted on YouTube by the computer’s owner, who had installed online backup software that the thief was unaware existed, has stirred an ethics debate.

The Facebook message sent to Mark. 

The crook pleaded for the clip to be removed immediately, saying his reputation was being trashed. The laptop’s owner is undecided, though our readers in a poll yesterday were overwhelmingly in favour of the video being uploaded, with 84 per cent of 14,653 voting in favour of the online shaming.

Asked this morning if he had any second thoughts about leaving the video up on the video sharing website YouTube, the 18-year-old computer owner, Mark Bao, told Fairfax he did.

“Yeah, I mean, essentially it’s a good idea to [remove the video],” Bao said in a telephone interview. “But I don’t know. It’s still something that’ll be on my mind for the coming week at least. I could [remove the video]. I’m leaning towards maybe doing it. Yesterday I was set on pretty much not doing it. But today it’s a little changed.”

Mark Bao. Photo: Supplied 

Yesterday afternoon the video had attracted more than 500,000 views. By late this morning it had reached more than 750,000.

An Australian ethicist, Dr Robert Sparrow, said Bao was “probably within his rights to upload the video” but questioned whether he should leave the footage on YouTube.

“I do think that there is a real question nowadays about the impact that posting anything to the internet can have on people’s lives and that’s something you would want to keep in mind,” Sparrow said.

He said posting the video might have “dramatic consequences” for the person that had now returned it.

“Maybe the first thing that people think of when they think of him may be something that takes years to recover from,” he said. “It depends a bit on how widely it’s circulated and how recognisable he is for those that know him … Maybe this is just a kind of drunken lapse from someone who is otherwise very upstanding. We just don’t know.”

He also said it “might reduce his opportunities for employment”.

A spokeswoman for Bao’s Bentley University, Michele Walsh, said campus police would not be providing comment but said that they were “considering charges of trespassing and larceny” against the thief who stole Bao’s laptop and were in discussion with their county’s District Attorney’s office and “reviewing evidence with them”.

“No decision has been made yet,” Walsh said.

Asked if any action would be taken against Bao for the video being uploaded to YouTube, Walsh said: “I will confirm with our police in the morning but since the video file was on his laptop – which was his personal property – I don’t believe so.”

Sparrow said it was a question of “what kind of character” Mr Bao wanted to demonstrate when asked if the video should now be removed.

“He has had his laptop returned, he’s received an apology … I note his remarks that were quoted where he wasn’t convinced of the sincerity of the apology because the spelling was poor. I’m not sure that I would choose to judge whether or not someone was sincere in their apology by looking at their spelling or grammar because some people have difficulties with those things.

“So I guess the issue here is: does Mr Bao want to be sort of forgiving and charitable on these virtues and [is he] aware that something like this can have a dramatic impact on another person’s life and maybe more dramatic than had it gone through the court system? Or does he wish to seek vengeance? I think that’s a question for him.”

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Asher Moses

March 3, 2011 – 10:20AM

• The wraps come off iPad 2
• Energetic Steve Jobs proves doomsayers wrong
• Gadgets blog: iPad 2 – too little, too late?

It may look like iPad 1.5 rather than iPad 2, but critics have so far lavished praise on Apple’s new wundertablet, which is thinner, lighter and faster than the first iPad.

Analysts say the incremental update will be enough to cement Apple’s technical superiority in the tablet space, which has seen a raft of new competitors in recent months. Apple already controls 90 per cent of the tablet market, so competing models based on Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows platforms face an uphill battle.

Steve Jobs, on medical leave, demonstrates the Mobile MIM application for iPad2.Photo: AP

The new iPad 2 is lighter (590 grams versus 680 grams) and thinner (from 13.4mm to 8.8mm) than its predecessor and boasts significant upgrades such as a new A5 dual-core processor, more internal memory, faster graphics and dual front and rear-facing cameras.

It ships in Australia on March 25 but prices have yet to be announced. Telstra has already said it will carry it.

Engadget’s hands-on test found the iPad 2 to be “insanely fast” and praised the “sleek, super thin” design.

CNET liked the addition of FaceTime video chat and the new GarageBand and iMovie apps, while Gizmodo fawned over the iPad 2′s new Smart Covers, which use magnets to attach to the device and allow it to automatically wake up from sleep mode.

“You peel the plastic (or leather) screen-casing off bit by bit, until you can fold it over and use it to prop up the iPad for some browsing, typing or viewing. It’s origami!,” gushed Gizmodo.

PC Magazine concluded: ” It’s slick, and it’s thin. Really thin, and lighter too; it’s much easier to hold than the original iPad. And it’s fast, thanks to a dual-core A5 processor.”

Foad Fadaghi, telco analyst at Telsyte, said although several competitors were on the horizon, the iPad 2 may have swung the pendulum back in favour of Apple.

“The iPad 2 re-affirms Apple’s place as the leader in media tablet devices. We continue to believe the iPad 2 will be the number one selling tablet in Australia in 2011,” he said.

Anthony Agius, founder the Australian Apple community site, MacTalk, said the iPad 2 was a “nice update to a legendary product that is miles ahead of the currently available competition and even better than planned products from competitors”.

But longtime Apple watcher and founder of MacTheMag, Matthew Powell, said in many ways the iPad 2 was not the radical step that many people were expecting.

“The screen resolution [1024x768] is the same as the original, there’s no Thunderbolt or other additional ports – but the point, from Apple’s perspective, is that it didn’t need to be,” said Powell.

“Apple leads this space by a very long margin, and by adding features like front- and rear-facing cameras and a dual-core CPU it extends that lead. Add in the reduced thickness and weight, and it’s pretty cool from a hardware perspective.”

But Powell pointed out that competitor tablets from LG and BlackBerry-maker RIM also include a fast dual-core processor and cameras.

Mark Novosel, telecommunications analyst at research firm IDC, said he had expected the iPad 2 to have dual cameras and be thinner and lighter, so he wasn’t surprised. But he said he was disappointed that Apple didn’t increase the resolution of the display.

“It would have been nice to see a Retina-type display with a much higher pixel density comparable to the iPhone 4′s industry leading display,” said Novosel.

“It would have also been nice if Apple included a micro HDMI port on the iPad 2 rather than requiring users to pay extra for a HDMI output dongle that connects through Apple’s dock connector.”

Novosel also expected the iPad 2 to be even lighter than it is, as it’s still heavier than the 10.1-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab. He also queried the meager 0.7-megapixel camera on the back, which doesn’t offer the resolution of the 5-8 megapixel cameras on competing models.

“Overall the iPad 2 is an incremental update rather than a revolutionary new device,” said Novosel.

“It will be enough to tempt more users to get an iPad, however, it is unlikely to entice many current owners to upgrade.”

iPad 2 key specifications

9.7-inch display (1024×768)

1GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor

16GB/32GB/64GB storage

Front VGA and rear 720p camera

8.8mm thick and weighs 590 grams

Available in black or white

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

By Karen Sprey

07:41 January 14, 2011

A device has been developed that cancels out the noise of the dental drill, and allows you to listen to music on your own MP3 player while still being able to talk with the dental team

By Paul Ridden

07:44 January 24, 2011

Researcher Valorie Salimpoor and colleague Mitchel Benovoy observe a volunteer as she listens to some of her favorite music

Asher Moses

January 25, 2011 – 12:48PM

Sony’s Qriocity music streaming service running on a TV.

Sony and the world’s major record labels are launching a music streaming service in Australia that will challenge Apple’s iTunes – but it may be too late to save the industry’s shrinking revenues.

The news comes as new figures released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) revealed global digital music sales had risen by just 6 per cent last year – half the rate of the previous year – while the overall music market had shrunk 8 or 9 per cent.

Sony’s service, called Qriocity, was launched recently in several European countries and is available on Sony’s PlayStation 3 games console, Blu-ray disc players, Bravia televisions, PCs and some smartphones.

Pricing details for Australia have yet to be announced but in Europe users can stream an unlimited number of songs, from various devices, for €10 ($13.70) a month.

“We’re happy to confirm the Qriocity music service will be coming to Australia. We expect the service to be live in the first half of this year,” Sony Australia’s technology communications manager Paul Colley said.

But the IFPI figures paint a scary picture for the music industry, as it appears that growth in digital music sales has levelled off and is not enough to offset the shrinking sales of physical CDs.

The music industry globally is trying to convince governments to introduce legislation that forces ISPs to warn and potentially disconnect people who continue to download music illegally.

Sabiene Heindl, general manager of the anti-piracy arm of the Australian music industry, Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI), said the Australia-specific figures would be released in the coming weeks.

“The ARIA [Australian Recording Industry Association] figures should come out in the next couple of weeks; we will then know the situation for Australia, but I suspect it will be a similar picture. It ain’t good,” Heindl said.

She added that globally, according to IFPI, recorded music sales had declined 31 per cent in about six years, which she said had led to a number of small indie labels closing down.

With Qriocity, Sony provides more than 6 million songs from studios including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, EMI Music and Warner Music Group. It effectively cuts out the middle men and gives the studios more control over revenue.

The move also helps record companies take on Apple’s iTunes Music Store, which in February reported its 10 billionth song download.

But the road to digital music success has been littered with dead bodies, with Nokia for instance axing its “Comes with Music” service in 21 countries in recent weeks.

“There have been a lot of dead bodies along the way,” said Sony Network Entertainment chief executive officer Tim Schaaff.

Sony’s service stands a better chance of survival, he said, because the number of connected Sony devices in the marketplace would be about 350 million in the next few years.

Sony’s Music Unlimited will, like iTunes, require a payment to access songs and add them to personal libraries. While iTunes allows users to access downloaded songs offline, streaming services require a user to be connected to an online device.

Music Unlimited will rival streaming and download services already on the market, including cloud-based sites such as Spotify, whose majority of users access the service for free in return for sitting through ads.

Sony unit Gracenote is providing technology for the service that will recommend music to users based on their tastes and listening habits.

The biggest obstacle to the success of Music Unlimited is piracy, Universal Music head of digital Rob Wells said.

Hundreds of online music services licensed by record labels have done little to stem illegal downloading.

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha